Continuous-vacuum dehydrator.



C. BIESEL.

CONTINUOUS VACUUM DEHYDRATOR.

APPLICATION f lLED IAN. ll, 19l7- V Patented Aug. 20, l9l&

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

V 5] wue nfoz g I ovum-1 s I C. BIESEL.

CONTINUOUS VACUUM DEHYDRATOR.

' APPLICATION FILED MN. 11. 1911.

37513 M alien e4 K? I UNITED OFFICE.

CHARLES BIE'sn L, or EL rAso, TEXAS;

CONTINUOUS-VACUUM 'DEHYDRATOR.

. "To all whom it may concern:

fected while the'filtering surface is under a material.

Be it known-that I, C ARLEs lSmsEL, a citizen of the United States, --res1d1ng at El I Pa-so, Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Continuous-Vacuum Dehydrators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

. This invention relates to a continuous the construction thereof and in pulp deflectors therefor." Moreparticularly the invention relates to such a filter or dehydrator for use 1n connection with gold and silver ores, but also adapted for use in gravity concentration and flotation practice in connection with copper, zinc, lead and other ores or for use n connectlon with other It is an object of the invention to provide a filter or dehydrator for separating, rap- 1d1y, cheaply and continuously, liquors and solutions from accompanying solids, such as occur in metallurgical practice and more particularly 1n the cyanidation, concentration and flotation of ores.

. It is'a further object of the invention to provide such a filter or dehydrator which will produce a cake containing'a low percentage of moisture, which will enable the washing of the cake to be facilitated, and

whichwill break up and remove the dehydrated, or dehydrated andwashed, cake or ulp or similar residueln a particularly advantageous manner; such removal being efvacuum or suction and without injury to the filtering medium or surface itself and with out causing loss of the vacuum or suction which it is desired to maintain in operations familiar to the'filtration of ores and similar materials in metallurgical practice.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention comprises a continuous-vacuum filter or dehydrator, and improvementstherein, whereby the operation of extracting valuable metals from ores under treatment may be accelerated, increased and cheapened; and whereby the pregnant solu tion still retained by the ore may be readily displaced by further amounts of barren or fresh solvent solution orby water direct.

In the accompanying drawings I have capacity and other conditions of use.

pulleys 2 of proper diameter.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug, 20, 1918, Application filed January 11, 1 917. Serial No. 141,775.

illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention, and the invention will be described more particularly in connection therewith, but it will be understood that the illustration and accompanying description are to be taken as illustrative of the invention and not as limiting its intent and scope. Inthe accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an end view of the filter or dehydrator embodying the invention, with parts broken away or shown in section;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of part of the filter or dehydrator;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation with parts broken. away or in section;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-section showing the means for fastening the ends of the filtering mediums;

Fig: 5 is an enlarged longitudinalprojection (parts being omitted) of the deflector for removing the filtered dehydrated residue or cake from the filtering surface;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the deflector of i 1 body novel and important features and elements of the invention.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4:, it will be seen that the novel filter or 'deh drator (which I will refer to simply as the filter) comprises a drum made of suitable material and of such appropriate dimensions as may be required, in accordance with the desli rl'pd 1s drum is made up of an inner shell 1 mounted on, and fastened to, two or more narrow face The hubs 3 of these pulleys are fastened in any suitable manner to the hollow shaft 4 which supports the drum and which is mounted in bearings 5v supported in any appropriate framework or supports. The hollow shaft and drum are driven or rotated by. the worm and gear 6 or by other suitable means from any convenient source of power, regulating means (not shown) being provided if necessary in order that the drum may revolve at a given speed or at such different speeds as may give the desired result;

The shell 1 of the drum is tapped at more or less even intervals by pipes or other conduits 7 which inturn connect with the hollow shaft 4. The arrangement is such that the hollow shaft communicates through the pipes 7 with the space on the outside of the shell 1. This hollow shaft in turn connects,

through a stufiing box 18 providing an airtight connection, with the pipe 19 through which asuitabl'e source of vacuum or suetion can be supplied and mamtained.

. Surrounding the shell 1 is a space-forming medium or space-forming mediums such as wire screen, expanded metal strips, or other suitable medium indicated at 8, of a nature adapted to permit free circulation andto form an air or vacuum space 9, the depth ofwhich can be varied to suit varying conditions. 'The medium which provides this air or vacuum space is indicated by the uneven lines in Fig. 4. On this space-forming medium is mounteda porous or perforated medium 10 of any proper description, preferably a perforated screen which willform 'a comparatively true and even surface concentric with the periphery of the shell and which may. be of woven or drum. This porous or perforated medium can be fastened to the shell in any suitable manner so long as it is held in place with relation to the periphery of'the shell itself, The endv openings between the drum 1 and open filtering medium of suitable kind, preferably common burlap 12, for the purpose of facilitating the discharging .of the filter cake as well as for preventing possible rusting or corrosion of the final outside cover or filtering medium 13 which may be of canvas,

cheesecloth or other suitable material. In order to fasten the medium 12 and the outside filtering medium 13, their ends are tucked under the ends of the perforated screen 10, as shown in Fig. 4, the thumb screws 14 being slightly released-to permit this to be done. The thumb screws 14 are then drawn tight holding the various mediums 8, 10, 12 and 13 in place. As an addi tional precaution a gasket or Wedge 15 can be driven between the ends of the screen 10 further sealing the joint, and further gripplng and clamping the mediums 12 and 13. The sides of the medium 13, at the ends of the drum, are. folded over the edges of'the drum and are drawn and wedged tight into a groove provided for this urpose in the annular-ring 16 whichis suitably fastened to the shell 1 and made of wood or other suitable material. The drawing and wedging into this groove may be effected with the gasket 17 of suitable material or by wedges or by any other suitable means. Spacing and supporting blocks 26 are shown between the arms of thepulleys 2 and the rings 16.

The pipes or conduits 7 connecting the shell 1 with thehollow central pipe or shaft are shown as made of an outer pipe member welded to the shell at '28 and also secured thereto by the. lock-nut29, and of an inner pipe member connected to the hub of the pulley and p to the central hollow shaft. These two pipe members areshown as connected with a rubber hose 30 suitably clamped thereto. v

It will thus be seen that the filtering drum is a wheel-like. structure, of suitable form and arrangement, entirely open through its center except for the arms of the pulleys and the connecting pipes 7 and that a 'single air compartment 1s provided outside the be filtered or dehydrated, is fedthrough the launder 20 into thereceptacle 21 which is provided with an emergency overflow 25 and into which the filtering drum dips. A

suitable number of spray pipes are independently provided outside the periphery of the drum for applying wash-water or fresh amounts of solvent liquor to the pulp being dehydrated. Two such pipes 23 and 24 are shown. The ore deflector is indicated at 22 in Fig. 1.

shell 1 and between this shell and the outer Assuming the drum-to be rotating in ,a

qulrenients of the material being filtered or dehydrated, and that the pulp and liquid is fed into the receptacle 21 through the launder 20, the revolving drum will pass through the receptacle 21 slightly submerged and the vacuum applied through the central hollow pipe 4, and the pipes 7 to the hollow space at the periphery of the drum, ef-' fects the depositingof a cake of pulp upon I the outside filtering medium. The thickness of. this cake or layer will depend upon the class'of material being filtered, the density of the pulp, the speed of the drums contact with the pulp, the amount of suction force applied, etc. Assuming that the cake ore cake has again been dehydrated when itis opposite the pipe 24, another wash spray,

if desired, can be applied, this'spray being inafter describe morein detail.

such as will for example replace the liquor still retained by the layer of pulp by a fresh solvent liquor. The cake will be again dehydrated and will'be finally removed by means of thedefiector 22 which I will here- The cake discharged at'22 can be' trans ported by sluicing or by conveyers oriby" other suitable means to whatever point of further treatment or discharge may be de sired.

During the entire revolution and opera tion of the filter a substantially constant vacuum is maintained. This is made pos sible by a very thin film of cake adheringto the filtering medium 13 and sealing this 1 medium between the discharge of the dehydrated cake at22 and the beginning ofra new layer of cake as themed-inns. becomes The pulp discharged at 22 may thus be a pulp which has been 'both' dehydrated and washed one or more times, or; it maybe simply dehydrated without washing, in

which case thepipes 23 and 24 maybe omitted, or their spraying action discon tinued. y

In stripping or deflecting the pulp or cake from the periphery of the drum, 1t is important that it should beiremoved withoutinjury to the'filtering' surface :and it is also importantthat it should be removed in-such a way as to leave sufiicient of 'the'cake to form an efi 'ectiye seal until the filtering sur face is again immersed in the pulp and a further cake begins to form. The deflector shown in Figs, 5 to 8 is designed particularly for effecting such urposesas-those referred to in a articular y advantageous manner. In additlon, this deflectoriefi'ectively breaks up or comminlites the pulp so that it is more readily handled by conveyers or in subsequent treatments.

' The deflectoris'composed'ofa plurality of spaced-apart wires arranged 1n asmgle plane substantially.tangentialto the perlphe eral surface of-the filter drum,,'with each wire inclined at an angleto both a plane through the axis of the filter andradial with respect thereto-and a 'planeperpe'ndicular to the axis of thefilter. It will accord.- ingly be evident that every plane perpendicular to the axis of the filter intercepts a plurality of different wires, each onefiof which is progressively nearer, or'farther removed from, the filtering surface than the next adjacent wire. And, also, every ,plane through the-axis bf the-[filter andradial with,

wires being effected by the "nuts 38. The

treated, the amountof such material, and

tion of the filter, namely, the thickness of position of'the wires against the surface of the filter .oragainst the outer periphery of As already noted'a continuous-, va'cuum-is maintained during the filtering operation so that a'layer' of pulp is being continually formed and requires to be continually rerespect thereto intercepts a plurality of different wires at points substantiallythe same dlstance from the filtering surface.

This deflector, as illustrated, is made up 5 'of upper and lower frame members 31 of angle iron connected by end frame members either a wash spray or a displacing spray 32 and a centralstifi'ening member 32, corner brackets 33 for reinforcing the frame being provided attwo diagonally opposite corners as shown. The frame can, of course, be madeiofsuitablematerial and of such diwires 34 arranged diagonally and held in pins 35 and on the upperframe member by I swlveledscrewhooks 36, adjustmentof the upper frame member 31 is shown in Fig; 8 as being further reinforced by the strap 7 39. The diagonaIQWiresare preferably of pianowire or of steel-wire of a size whichcan be varled in accordance with the material 'to be like considerations. The angle at which the wires are held, as well as the-sizeand dise. tance apart of the wires is directly related to the conditions. accompanying the opera-- the cake, thecapacity and other'c'onditions In order that the deflector may; be adjusted both "as to itsinclination and as to its 7 distance from the drum, an adjustable base' j 1sprov1ded carried by the support 41 and" deflector and thereby varying its angle and its'inclination, so that it may bear-ranged a 110 tangentially and "so .tlia't'its relation with respect to thenfilter drum can-be; adjusted.

Provision-is thus made not only for maintaining the proper tension onthe wires,by,, V

adjustment thereof, but also 'foryaryin-g the the rotary filter, whereithe filter is ofmtarynatlire;

moved, if the operation vof thefilter is to'be continuous. In practice, the cake or film of i i 125' cut by the wires held in tension against the' pulp adhering to the outside of the filter is outer surface of th filte1' 'andtl1e "upper or outer layerof'the cake i's 'thus removed. A

very thin film ofjthe' cake or a thin layer'of I 7 the;- pulp remains on, the filtering' .medium place on the-lower frame member by anchor I shdable thereon by means of adjusting V wise the vacuum would be destroyed and the and this is suflicient to seal the filtering medium after removal of the cake and until the filtering operation begins again by theimmersion" of the filtering surface in the pulp to be filtered. This continual sealing of the filtering -medium is important, since otherfiltering action would be seriously impaired. By maintainingthis. vacuum, the filtering action is made continuous even though there is but a single vacuum chamber, all parts of which are in communication with each other.

Moreover, the construction and arrangement of the deflector, consisting as it'does of a large number of diagonally arranged'wires,

' so deflects and breaks up the layer of cake,

that this. cake is of amore or dess comminuted nature rather than in the form ofseparate cakes or lumps. Each wire in fact acts as a separate'cutting and deflecting surface, and, since these wires are arranged subover an appreciable length of the wire and a corresponding peripheral distance on the cake, instead of at a single horizontal transv verse edge. That is tosay, if thecake is of conslderable thickness, the maximum cutting action will take place where the wires are closest tothe' filtering surface, while adjacent portions of the wires at a slightly ing subdivided into a plurality of cornpart greater distance from the periphery of the filtering medium are removing the outer portions of the-cake which first comes in contact with them.

The apparatus of the present invention is I one of notable simplicity of construction and operation, comprising but a single suction compartment, although capable of bements- -The apparatus is one which is continuous in operation and one which enables the liquid content of the pulp to be removed and thepulp itself to be continuously dehydrated. The" suction" which is applied continuouslyfrom the time the pulp is first i brought into. contact with the filtering surface until the pulp is finally removed therefrom results idthe delivaryof pulp with a low percentage of moisture, whether the pulp is in granular form or in the form of slimes. J a. f 1

Owing to the fact that the drum actsonly upon athin layer of pulp, insteadlof a cake of'material thickness, the number of square 'feet ofexposed and active filtering surface for a unit of time is considerably increased.

This increased capacity is largely due to the fact that as the cake increases in thickness the time required, for. dehydration does not increase proportionately but at a rate of It will further be noted that the device is continuous, and not intermittent, in its action and that the vacuum is continuously applied. It will be further notedthat the apparatusischaracterized by the entire absence ofevalves" which require to be manipui lated, controlled, operated or maintained; and that the whole apparatus is one of no- 4 table simplicity and maintained in proper condition at a minimum of expense.

. Inasmuch ,as the filtering medium is exposedto continuous suction, it'is held constantly against its-support, and isthus distinguished from filters in which the filtering medium is subjected to. alternate SllOLlOl'l and release of the suction for the purposeof releasing the cake. I moreover. does not require to be sewed or prepared or manufactured in any particular form or shape and can be changed or replaced in a'short time and without difliculty. When properly replaced and when the device as a whole is properly adjusted, the filter requires a minimum of attention and can be operated continuously for conslderable eriods of time.

, In ury to the filter cloth is further avoided or minimized. by the construction of the deflectin devices used and by the fact that such de ectors 'in use are intended to leave a thin film of. pulp upon the filter cloth to seal it and thus do not wear on the filter cloth itself or injure it.

I claim: I

1. A continuous-vacuum filter or dehydrator comprising a hollow drum provlded with aperipheral suction chamber and with an outer filtering medium, means for "applying a vacuum continuously to said chamber,

.means for supplying to said drum the pulp or other material to be filteredor dehydrated, and means for continuously deflecting or removing from said drum the dehydrated cake and the liquid removed therefrom without interrupting the vacuum in said peripheral suction chamber. 2. A continuous-vacuum filter or dehydrator .comprisinga drum provided with an outer filtering'surface or medium, means for applying to said medium a continuous suction throughout the operation of the drum and for'maint'aining the surface of such filtering medium in constant and con- The filtering medium 1' l 7 said chamber;

55 filter media carried 'bynsaid support, meanstor comprising a drum open through its central portion and provided with an outer annular chamber-and a surrounding filter-I ing surface or' medium, a centrale hollow shaft supporting such drum, means con- 10 necting such hollow shaft withsaidcham-' ber, means for continuously maintaining a vacuum in said hollow shaft and in said chamber, whereby 1 the filtering surface is subjected to the continuous action of the suction or vacuum, and means for removing the dehydrated cake fromsaidfiltering surface without interrupting the v acuum s in 4. 'A continuous-vacuum or dehy eodrator comprisinga drum made upjof an,-

inner shell and an outer-filtering medium spaced apart from such shell and forming therewith a peripheralchamber, means, for applying suction or vacuum to such cham-I her throughout the operation of the filter, and means forsupplying to said filteringsurface the: material to 'be dehydrated" and for removing'ther'efrom the dehydrated maso said chamber. p i 5.]A filtering or dehydrating drum made up of a central hollow pipe or-shaft, a drum w terial, without interrupting the vacuum in shell supported by .said pipe or shaft and f forming theinner surface of a"peripheral' 3 5 5 chamber, spacing members in said chamber, a an outer filtering medium and supfi iorting means therefor forming the outer tering' layer and the outer surface of said chamber, 'means for securing such filtering medium at 40 its meeting ends to the inner shell, resilient fgaskets for sealing the edges of said chain- 7 her at the ends of the drum,' means for clamping the edges'of the filtering mediumat the ends of the drum and thereby holding -tl1em in place, and means for connecting said hollow shaft to 1 said chamber whereby A a continuous-suction can be applied through said pipe orshaft tosaid chamber. 6. A filtering or dehydrating drumcom--.

,- to prising a central hollow shaft supfport ng the drum a shell carried by saidsha t, spacing elements surroundingsaid shell, a -supvporting'layerflfor afilter medium surround,-

ing said spacing' elements, andone ormore for clamping said filter medium or media at their meeting ends to the. spacing :mem-

hers "and "to the shell, .means ffor clampingsaid filter medium at-the ends of the'drum' to a hold a taut;suita'ble resilient. pfl kings'at' theends of the'idrumfor elosingthe 5 aces s between the shell and the,;fi1ter-'me mm, and means'connecting said hollow central shaft to the chamber formed between the 66 said "shell" and the filter medium whereby;

ice f B said chamber can be subjected to a continuchamber, means for feeding to said drum the material to bedehydrated, and a defiecpluralityof diagonally arranged wires arranged to remove the dehydrated pulp means for maintaining a vacuum in said i from such filtering medium "without interrupting the vacuum'w'ithin said chamber.

9. A continuous-vacuum filter or dehydrator comprising-afilter drum and a deflector forthedehydrated pulp made up of a plurality of diagonally,iarranged wires, said deflector being adjustable with respect to the drum and presenting a plurality of cutting elements for breakingup and removing the dehydrated material.

10. A deflectorfor removing or deflecting thepulp or other dehydratedmate'rial from the -filtferingsurface of a revolving filter" or "dehydrator, comprising 'a' suitable framle; work'a'nd a plurality of wires spaced apart and supported by, said frame Work and adapted to presentta large number'of deflecting elements arranged to be effective at varying radial distances'from the filtering surface for the removal of pulp or other dehydrated-"material from such filter. I

- 11. "A deflector for removing or deflecting the pulp or other dehydratedmaterial from the filtering surface ofa revolving filter or dehydrator, comprising 'a frame, and a plu- Hrality of spaced-apart wires supported by said frame in a plane vsubstantially tangential to the-filtering surface of saidfilter 116 and so arranged that each .wireis inclined at an'angle to both a plane perpendicular H toithe'axis of said filter and toka plane through the axislof' saidfilter and radial. with respect thereto, a

a 12'."A deflector for removingor defiecting the-pulp or other dehydrated material'from the filtering surface 'of'a revolving filter or dehydrator, comprising a substant1allyrectangular" framework, 1 and a plural ty oil wires spaced apart and diagonally arranged ported thereby for effecting the {removal'or deflecting of thepulp' or other dehydrated material from such filter;

. with respect to said frame work and sup'-' 13. A deflector for removing or deflecting the pulp or other dehydrated material from the filtering surface of a revolving filter or. dehydrator, comprising a' base, a substantially rectangular frame work supported in an inclined position on said base, means for adjusting the inclination of said frame work with respect to said base, and a plurality of spaced-apart wires secured to said frame work and arranged in substantially the same plane and adapted to present a large number of deflecting elements for the removal of pulp or other dehydrated materialfrom the revolving filtering surface of said filter.

14. A deflector for removing or deflecting the pulp-or other dehydrated material from the filtering surface of a revolving filter or dehydrator, comprising asuitable frame work and a plurality of spaced-apart wires supported I by said frame work and arranged to present in every plane perpendicular to the axis of said filter a large number of independent deflecting elements each of'which is progressively nearer the filtering surface than the next adjacent deflecting' element for effecting the removal of dehydrated material from the filtering surface of such filter.

15. A deflector for removing or deflecting the pulp or other dehydrated material from the filtering surface of a revolving filter or dehydrator, comprising a frame, and a plurality of wires supported in substantially same plane by said frame and arranged so that any plane through the axis of the filter and radial with respect thereto intercepts a plurality of different wires at points substantially the same distance from the filterv ing surface. a In testimony whereof Iafiix my slgnature.

CHARLES BIESEL. 

